What effect will Illinois' attempts to steal away Penn State players post-sanctions have on game?

Illinois' Tim Beckman, here pictured while head coach at Toledo, raised the ire of many Penn Staters this summer by openly recruiting Nittany Lions. Will these tactics affect the game?Associated Press file

In the third of four Penn State vs. Illinois college football roundtable questions, Adam Collyer of Black Shoe Diaries asks what effect Tim Beckman's recruiting of PSU players will have on the game.

Scroll down for answers from The 50-Yard Lion bloggers.

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We all know the stories about how the Illinois coaches commandeering State College and lingering outside of players' apartments in the hours after the NCAA sanctions were issued. Has this game been circled on the calendar for the Coach O'Brien and his staff? Will those feelings have an impact on this game?

Perhaps to some extent but I would use the Illinois tactics more as a motivating factor for keeping the team together after the season rather than using it as motivation on the field. As we saw against Ohio, emotion can only take you so far. Then you have to play football.

This came up in the Q&A I did last week, and after thinking longer on it I still feel the same. Through the aftermath of the NCAA sanctions, Coach O’Brien made it clear that his players wouldn’t be visibly bothered by the circus put on by media outlets and poaching schools like Illinois. However, I doubt he’ll instruct our guys to act like perfect angels, and I could see players getting fired up on their own and trying to show off in front of the home sideline. Anyway, why would BOB waste good bulletin board material on a team like Illinois? We can save it for a team waiting to be knocked off its sanctioned high horse—Ohio State.

Boy, I wish this game was being played in the Beav. It was circled on my calendar ever since I read that the coaches from Illinois were in the parking lot at Lasch, outside of players' apartments, at local restaurants, at the airport, etc. Then, when Tim Beckman denied that the recruiting force was on campus when the players had tweeted so much that was the last straw for me. Bring it!

I can't read their minds but knowing the kind of leadership we've seen from the Michaels, Hodges, and MCGloin, I would look for a little payback on both sides of the ball. I don't think the players or staff will put too much emotion into poor taste. However, Bill O'Brien seemed to hesitate a little when asked about it by reporters. HMMMMM.

There is little doubt this has been a long anticipated game for Penn State players, coaches, and fans. It was the latest in long line of incidents proving the Big 10 has not always had Penn State's back by permitting a fellow conference member to poach players. My concern about the emotion is the way the team performed when feelings were high in the season opener against Ohio. Extra motivation is great, hopefully that are not too amped up for Saturday's game

You'd be a fool not to believe that this game carries some extra weight. Not only is it the first BIG game of O'Brien's career, but its also against the most disrespectful coach in the conference. The BIG is supposed to be a brotherhood, where the coaches compete on the field and off the field, but they carry a mutual respect in having each other's backs within the conference. That unspoken "honor code" went out the window when Urban went to Columbus and Beckman signed with the Illini. Their actions have definitely left OB and the players with a bad taste in their mouths. I would expect this game to be much more personal than everyone is chalking it up to be.

Besides the fact that this is the Big Ten opener for both teams, the Illinois’ coaches aggressive “recruiting” tactics add an extra spark for Penn State to symbolically show the Illini’s attempt to steal away players, especially at an emotionally charged time for the school, won’t be tolerated.